Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Announces the Release and Availability of the “Helping HandBook” to
Wildfire Victims

Contact:
Michael T. Elliott
Los Angeles County Bar Association
(213) 896-6450telliott@lacba.org
Los Angeles – December 2, 2003 - The Los Angeles County Bar Association recognizes that members of our community that suffered loss or injury due to the recent Southern California Wildfires can feel overwhelmed, and often don’t know where to turn for help. That is why LACBA has joined with other bar associations under the leadership of a premier California-based law firm, Morrison & Foerster LLP, to develop and disseminate a handbook to assist the wildfire victims called “Helping HandBook.”

The handbook is a 72-page overview of legal issues faced by people recovering from the most damaging blazes in state history. The manual provides much-needed and helpful information to Californians who are trying to put their homes and lives back together.

For fire victims who may not be aware of all of the public and private resources available to them, the Helping HandBook is an indispensable guide. In user-friendly Q&A format, it addresses everything from temporary housing to replacing a VCR or burnt computer. Going beyond disaster response, the handbook even covers ancillary issues that victims may face, such as how to file an unemployment claim, what to do if creditors keep calling you, and how to shop around for home loans.

The HandBook is available online at http://www.mofo.com/about/
socalfirehelp/SoCalFireHandBook.pdf. It is also available from the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s community projects offices, including its Domestic Violence Project, Immigration Legal Assistance Project, HIV/AIDS Legal Services – HALSA, and its Lawyer Referral and Information Service.

LACBA has also supported the development of the Wildfires Disaster Legal Services Hotline at (800) 310-7029.That effort is coordinated by Matthew Nelson of the Santa Monica-based firm, Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP, and can be reached at (310) 255-9139, or on email at:mnelson@agsk.com